Search

McClung Microwave Melts Down

The cause and effect, after being taken outside. Photograph by Jessica Applegate

Olivia Samerdyke, Editor-in-Chief

Everyone who has lived in Spencer dorm at MBC probably won’t panic when a fire alarm goes off at some ungodly hour of the night, no matter where they happen to sleep. However, when the unmistakable aroma of smoke accompanies said alarm—that’s an adrenaline rush.

Last Tuesday night, residents of McClung dorm were awakened sometime after midnight by the fire alarm and smell of smoke coming from the lounge. They waited outside for the fire department, predicting that MBC’s probable unpopularity with the Staunton fire department because of the number of false alarms that inevitably disturb everyone involved.

The sight of actual fire trucks rattled many residents, as did the news that the lounge was in fact full of smoke. They worried about their computers and other valuable belongings because “full of smoke” was open to a lot of interpretation.

“We ought to just make a rule saying you can’t cook anything more complicated than Easy Mac during quiet hours,” a few residents mused, as they watched the fire-fighters enter the building.

The cause of the fire turned out to be ramen noodles, which had been placed in a metal bowl. No one was injured, and the appliance has already been replaced. The smell of smoke lingers on the lower floor but otherwise dorm life in McClung has returned to its state of normalcy.

Although the small fire was inconvenient and a little scary, it could have been much worse. The McClung women are grateful to the Staunton Fire Department for their handling of the situation. Grumbling invariably occurs when a false alarm interrupts sleep or work, but the city demonstrated that when a need exists, it can be swiftly dealt with.